Choice, Change, Challenge, and Opportunity

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4
ELASTICITY
CHAPTER
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Tough Times in the Recording Industry

• More and more people are illegally downloading
  music rather than paying 12 for a CD.
• CD producers are loosing revenue and some of them
  are trying to combat the problem by slashing the
  price of a CD.
• Will this strategy work?
• Can lower priced CDs beat illegal downloads,
  bring greater revenue to the recording industry
  and artists, and help to promote the social
  interest?
• The concept of elasticity helps to answer these
  questions.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• In Figure 4.1a, a change in supply brings a small
  increase in the quantity demanded and a large
  fall in price.

4
Price Elasticity of Demand

• In Figure 4.1b, a change in supply brings a large
  increase in the quantity demanded and a small
  fall in price.

5
Price Elasticity of Demand

• The contrast between the two outcomes in Figure
  4.1 highlights the need for a measure of the
  responsiveness of the quantity demanded to a
  price change.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• The price elasticity of demand is a units-free
  measure of the responsiveness of the quantity
  demanded of a good to a change in its price when
  all other influences on buyers plans remain the
  same.
• Calculating Elasticity
• The price elasticity of demand is calculated by
  using the formula
• Percentage change in quantity demanded
• Percentage change in price

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• To calculate the price elasticity of demand
• We express the change in price as a percentage of
  the average pricethe average of the initial and
  new price,
• and we express the change in the quantity
  demanded as a percentage of the average quantity
  demandedthe average of the initial and new
  quantity.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• Figure 4.2 calculates the price elasticity of
  demand for pizza.
• The price initially is 20.50 and the quantity
  demanded is 9 pizzas an hour.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• The price falls to 19.50 and the quantity
  demanded increases to 11 pizzas an hour.

The price falls by 1 and the quantity demanded
increases by 2 pizzas an hour.
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Price Elasticity of Demand

• The average price is 20 and the average quantity
  demanded is 10 pizzas an hour.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• The percentage change in quantity demanded, DQ,
  is calculated as DQ/Qave, which is 2/10 1/5.
• The percentage change in price, DP, is
  calculated as DP/Pave, which is 1/20 1/20.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• The price elasticity of demand is (1/5)/(1/20)
  20/5 4.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• Inelastic and Elastic Demand
• Demand can be inelastic, unit elastic, or
  elastic, and can range from zero to infinity.
• If the quantity demanded doesnt change when the
  price changes, the price elasticity of demand is
  zero and the good as a perfectly inelastic demand.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• Figure 4.3a illustrates the case of a good that
  has a perfectly inelastic demand and that has a
  vertical demand curve.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• If the percentage change in the quantity demanded
  equals the percentage change in price, the price
  elasticity of demand equals 1 and the good has
  unit elastic demand.
• Figure 4.3b illustrates this casea demand curve
  with ever declining slope. (Note that the demand
  curve is not linear.)

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• Between the two previous cases, the percentage
  change in the quantity demanded is smaller than
  the percentage change in price so that the price
  elasticity of demand is less than 1 and the good
  has inelastic demand.
• If the percentage change in the quantity demanded
  is infinitely large when the price barely
  changes, the price elasticity of demand is
  infinite and the good has perfectly elastic
  demand.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• Figure 4.3c illustrates the case of perfectly
  elastic demanda horizontal demand curve.
• If the percentage change in the quantity demanded
  is greater than the percentage change in price,
  the price elasticity of demand is greater than 1
  and the good has elastic demand.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• Elasticity Along a Straight-Line Demand Curve
• Figure 4.4 shows how demand becomes less elastic
  as the price falls along a linear demand curve.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• At prices above the mid-point of the demand
  curve, demand is elastic.

At prices below the mid-point of the demand
curve, demand is inelastic.
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Price Elasticity of Demand

• For example, if the price falls from 25 to 15,
  the quantity demanded increases from 0 to 20
  pizzas an hour.

The average price is 20 and the average quantity
is 10.
The price elasticity of demand is
(20/10)/(10/20), which equals 4.
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Price Elasticity of Demand

• If the price falls from 10 to 0, the quantity
  demanded increases from 30 to 50 pizzas an hour.

The average price is 5 and the average quantity
is 40.
The price elasticity of demand is (20/40)/(10/5),
which equals 1/4.
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Price Elasticity of Demand

• If the price falls from 15 to 10, the quantity
  demanded increases from 20 to 30 pizzas an hour.

The average price is 12.50 and the average
quantity is 25.
The price elasticity of demand is
(10/25)/(5/12.5), which equals 1.
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Price Elasticity of Demand

• Total Revenue and Elasticity
• The total revenue from the sale of good or
  service equals the price of the good multiplied
  by the quantity sold.
• When the price changes, total revenue also
  changes.
• But a rise in price doesnt always increase total
  revenue.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• The change in total revenue due to a change in
  price depends on the elasticity of demand
• If demand is elastic, a 1 percent price cut
  increases the quantity sold by more than 1
  percent, and total revenue increases.
• If demand is inelastic, a 1 percent price cut
  increases the quantity sold by less than 1
  percent, and total revenues decreases.
• If demand is unitary elastic, a 1 percent price
  cut increases the quantity sold by 1 percent, and
  total revenue remains unchanged.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• The total revenue test is a method of estimating
  the price elasticity of demand by observing the
  change in total revenue that results from a price
  change (when all other influences on the quantity
  sold remain the same).
• If a price cut increases total revenue, demand is
  elastic.
• If a price cut decreases total revenue, demand is
  inelastic.
• If a price cut leaves total revenue unchanged,
  demand is unit elastic.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• Figure 4.5 shows the relationship between
  elasticity of demand for pizzas and the total
  revenue from pizzas.
• In part a (shown here), as the price falls from
  25 to 12.50, demand is elastic, and total
  revenue increases.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• At 12.50, demand is unit elastic and total
  revenue stops increasing.

As the price falls from 12.50 to zero, demand is
inelastic, and total revenue decreases.
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Price Elasticity of Demand

• In part b (shown here), as the quantity increases
  from zero to 25, demand is elastic, and total
  revenue increases.

At 25, demand is unit elastic, and total revenue
is at its maximum.
As the quantity increases from 25 to 50, demand
is inelastic, and total revenue decreases.
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Price Elasticity of Demand

• The Factors That Influence the Elasticity of
  Demand
• The elasticity of demand for a good depends on
• The closeness of substitutes
• The proportion of income spent on the good
• The time elapsed since a price change

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• The closeness of substitutes
• The closer the substitutes for a good or service,
  the more elastic is the demand for it.
• Necessities, such as food or housing, generally
  have inelastic demand.
• Luxuries, such as exotic vacations, generally
  have elastic demand.
• The proportion of income spent on the good.
• The greater the proportion of income consumers
  spent on a good, the larger is its elasticity of
  demand.

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Price Elasticity of Demand

• The time elapsed since a price change
• The more time consumers have to adjust to a price
  change, or the longer that a good can be stored
  without losing its value, the more elastic is the
  demand for that good.

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More Elasticities of Demand

• Cross Elasticity of Demand
• The cross elasticity of demand is a measure of
  the responsiveness of demand for a good to a
  change in the price of a substitute or a
  compliment, other things remaining the same.
• The formula for calculating the cross elasticity
  is
• Percentage change in quantity demanded
• Percentage change in price of substitute or
  complement

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More Elasticities of Demand

• The cross elasticity of demand for a substitute
  is positive.
• The cross elasticity of demand for a complement
  is negative.

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More Elasticities of Demand

• Figure 4.7 shows the increase in the demand for
  pizza when the price of burger (a substitute for
  pizza) rises.

The figure also shows the decrease in the demand
for pizza when the price of a soft drink (a
complement of pizza) rises.
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More Elasticities of Demand

• Income Elasticity of Demand
• The income elasticity of demand measures how the
  quantity demanded of a good responds to a change
  in income, other things equal.
• The formula for calculating the income elasticity
  of demand is
• Percentage change in quantity demanded
• Percentage change in income

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More Elasticities of Demand

• If the income elasticity of demand is greater
  than 1, demand is income elastic and the good is
  a normal good.
• If the income elasticity of demand is greater
  than zero but less than 1, demand is income
  inelastic and the good is a normal good.
• If the income elasticity of demand is less than
  zero (negative) the good is an inferior good.

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Price Elasticity of Supply

• In Figure 4.9a, a change in demand brings a small
  increase in the quantity supplied and a large
  rise in price.

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Price Elasticity of Supply

• In Figure 4.9b, a change in demand brings a large
  increase in the quantity supplied and a small
  rise in price.

39
Price Elasticity of Supply

• The contrast between the two outcomes in Figure
  4.9 highlights the need for a measure of the
  responsiveness of the quantity supplied to a
  price change.

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Elasticity of Supply

• The elasticity of supply measures the
  responsiveness of the quantity supplied to a
  change in the price of a good when all other
  influences on selling plans remain the same.
• Calculating the Elasticity of Supply
• The elasticity of supply is calculated by using
  the formula
• Percentage change in quantity supplied
• Percentage change in price

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Elasticity of Supply

• Figure 4.10 on the next slide shows three cases
  of the elasticity of supply.
• Supply is perfectly inelastic if the supply curve
  is vertical and the elasticity of supply is 0.
• Supply is unit elastic if the supply curve is
  linear and passes through the origin. (Note that
  slope is irrelevant.)
• Supply is perfectly elastic if the supply curve
  is horizontal and the elasticity of supply is
  infinite.

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Elasticity of Supply
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Elasticity of Supply

• The Factors That Influence the Elasticity of
  Supply
• The elasticity of supply depends on
• Resource substitution possibilities
• The easier it is to substitute among the
  resources used to produce a good or service, the
  greater is its elasticity of supply.
• The time frame for supply decisions
• The more time that passes after a price change,
  the greater is the elasticity of supply.

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Elasticity of Supply

• The time frame for supply decisions
• The more time that passes after a price change,
  the greater is the elasticity of supply.
• Momentary supply is perfectly inelastic. The
  quantity supplied immediately following a price
  change is constant.
• Short-run supply is somewhat elastic.
• Long-run supply is the most elastic.

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THE END